High Intensity Care – Complex Bowel Care
Bowel care is a routine part of personal support. It requires a specialist level of support where the participant is at risk of severe constipation or faecal incontinence, for example, CP GMFCS1 levels 3,4,5; spinal injuries; some ABI and where the bowel care plan involves nonroutine treatment such as use of non-routine PRNs.
High Intensity Care – Diabetes Management
This is a corequisite with injecting where a person with diabetes requires support to implement their diabetes management plan and need regular injections that they cannot administer themselves.
Supervising and/or assisting with daily life tasks that focus on developing and enhancing the skills each participant needed to live independently. The service is delivered to each participant that resides in shared living in relation to the plan and needs. This may involve the participants living in cluster units, the same household or living in a host family arrangement. This service can either be temporary or ongoing and only occurs in group settings
High Intensity Care – Pressure Care and Wound Management
Support workers may work with people who require assistance with pressure care and wound management. Responsibility for wound care would normally be undertaken by a person with nursing qualifications.
Support workers who are responsible for limited care work under direction of a health worker. They require relevant training although this work does not typically require specialist skills.
High Intensity Care – Seizure Management
Support workers often work with people who have seizures and this does not typically require specialist skills provided the support worker has an understanding about the procedures to follow. Where a support worker administers epilepsy medication such as Midazolam, they also need training in medication specific emergency management procedures. High intensity support is relevant for people who also require emergency post-seizure medication (PRN). Correct administration of this medication is critical and is considered a high intensity support activity that requires intensive training. The support worker also needs basic first aid skills and knowledge required to administer CPR and place a person in a recovery position.
High Intensity Care – Stoma Management
This can apply to care for different types of stomas such as colostomy and ileostomy care or tracheostomy care (where no other requirements apply relating to ventilation).
High Intensity Care – Subcutaneous Injection
Required where a person is unable to self-administer injections. There are two levels of responsibility:
- Use of pens and pumps to administer a predosed medication.
- Calculating and measuring the required dose. Where this is done by a support worker, additional training and clinical reporting and oversight arrangements are required so that the calculation and measurement of the dose is checked by a health practitioner prior to being administered.
High Intensity Care – Urinary Catheter Management
Replacing and disposing of bags and monitoring health of people using indwelling and suprapubic catheters can be part of a general support worker role. In these cases, insertion of the catheter is done by a health practitioner.